Be good, Mike McCoy. Be extremely good – you and all 20 of your assistant coaches.

“Extremely well-coached” is how the previous coach, Norv Turner, described the 2012 Chargers.

Once the new coaches studied the film, Norv said on the day he was fired, they’d see it to be true.

Maybe it was Norv’s way of saying that the ’12 Chargers, who went 7-9, were short on talent.

Now it’s McCoy’s turn. And it’s Tom Telesco’s turn, too.

Whether Norv’s comment about the coaching was on the mark or just plain hooey, Telesco will be importing several new players for the coaches to mold.

The general manager has the 11th pick in the draft. It’s the highest pick the Chargers have owned since they took Eli Manning first in 2004 and dealt him for Philip Rivers and two Giants draft picks.

The day McCoy was hired to replace Turner, his first order of business was to assemble a coaching staff, which was a new task to him. He retained seven of Turner’s aides. He hired 13 outsiders, one a former Chargers intern. The assistants are headed by offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, who coached the Cardinals for the last six years and recommended several coaches hired by McCoy.

“I’m excited about the group that we’ve assembled because we got a great group of football coaches who are also outstanding men,” McCoy said via email.

As for the challenge of matching wits with other coaches in the AFC West, Norv actually appeared to have had it pretty easy last year.

The Raiders were breaking in Dennis Allen, who had never been a head coach at any level.

The growing pains were evident in Oakland.

Allen's hand-picked offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp, contrived an offense built on zone blocking and zone running. The scheme fit neither Oakland's blockers nor its best running back, Darren McFadden. Allen fired Knapp after the season, and rookie GM Reggie McKenzie said the team will go to a power attack more suited to its personnel.

In Kansas City, Romeo Crennel had assumed the head coach's job after going 2-1 as the interim coach in 2011, following Todd Haley's dismissal.

Crennel brought in a new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, and remained the defensive coordinator. Neither move panned out. The offense was a turnover-prone mess, and Crennel acknowledged during the season that the whole operation was out of whack. He said he needed to devote more time to overseeing the team, and less time to micro-managing the defense.

In the end, the Chiefs went 2-14, costing Crennel his job.

Crennel has won Super Bowls as a defensive aide and is an excellent mentor to young men; as a head coach, he is 28-55 (.337).

The Chiefs replaced Crennel with Andy Reid; his 14-year record is 130-93-1 (.583).

McCoy the last four years was an offensive assistant with the Broncos. Each of the last two years, he reported to head coach John Fox and called plays for Peyton Manning, who had the option of changing them after he surveyed the defense. Of the three offensive coordinators to oversee Manning, McCoy is the first to become a head coach.

With his former Broncos colleague Allen entering year two, McCoy is the lone rookie head coach in the division.

“I think he’s ready,” Manning said. “I think he’s paid his dues. Mike’s a good leader. He’s had some good coaches that have been mentors to him, different coaches that he’s worked with in his years in the NFL. I think he’s incorporated some of their leadership philosophies (with) his own philosophy.”